Remembering Martin Luther, Lincoln, JFK

Besides Martin Luther King, the other quotes selected by Obama are Franklin D Roosevelt's "The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself," Abraham Lincoln's "Government of the People, By the People, For the People," and John F Kennedy's "No Problem of Human Destiny is Beyond Human Beings."

Besides, "The Welfare of Each of Us is Dependent Fundamentally Upon the Welfare of All of Us" by Theodore Roosevelt also features on the rug.

The existing furniture in the Oval Office will remain the property of the White House and will be placed in a storage facility.

Bush's armchairs remodeled for Obama

According to the White House the two mahogany armchairs in front of the fireplace, previously used by President George W Bush, were reupholstered with a caramel-coloured leather.

The White House said both the two previous presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush engaged in "a comparable level of redesign" with funds from their Presidential Inaugural Committees to the White House Historical Association.

The expenditure was "in line with the amount spent by Presidents Clinton and George W Gush on the redesigns of their Oval Office," the White House said.